Baroness Scotland of Asthal: This information is not currently readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. We are planning to improve our IT systems for dealing with these applications and one of the benefits will be the ability to publish waiting time information for these applications.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: In 2002, the Government commissioned an independent evaluation report into the impact of Section 41 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999. The final report was published in January 2006 and the findings and recommendations were sent to the senior judiciary and the Judicial Studies Board (the report canbe found at www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs06/rdsolr2006.pdf). The Criminal Procedure Rules Committee, which is chaired by the Lord Chief Justice, has made new rules requiring applications to introduce evidence about a complainant's sexual behaviour to be in writing in advance of the trial. These rules came into force on 6 November 2006.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: The maximum sentence for the offence of rape is life imprisonment. Guidelines suggest a starting point of a five-year determinate sentence if the victim is an adult and there are no aggravating features. Martin Walsh was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of six years, equivalent to a 12-year determinate sentence. As Mr Walsh has been sentenced to life, he will only be released after six years if the independent Parole Board considers that is safe.
	The Government are consulting on proposals to reform the way that minimum terms for those sentenced to life imprisonment are calculated. The consultation suggests options for making this process clearer to the public so as to deal with the misperception that all offenders will be released at the end of the minimum custodial term set by the judge. Many offenders sentenced to indeterminate sentences in practice spend significantly longer in prison than the minimum term specified.
	We have already announced that we want judges to have more discretion so that they no longer have to reduce the sentence they impose by up to one-third for an early guilty plea, regardless of the circumstances. The Sentencing Guidelines Council is currently reviewing its guilty plea discount guideline.

Lord Dykes: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What plans they have to assist the European Commission's fight against fraud by reinforcing procedures to reduce misuse of European Union and United Kingdom matching funds by United Kingdom recipients, following the auditor's refusal to certify the European Union budget for the12th year running.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: The United Kingdom's net contribution to the EC budget in financialyear 2005-06 can be found at footnote 1 to Table 7 (page 15) of the Public Expenditure 2005-06 Provisional Outturn White Paper (Cm 6883) published in July 2006. Net contributions figures for the financial years 2000-01 to 2004-05 can be found in Table 3.2 (page 17) of the annual European Community Finances White Paper (Cm 6770) published in May 2006. Equivalent figures for the years 1996-97 to 1999-2000 can be found in copies of this White Paper for the years 2002 to 2005.

Lord Avebury: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will commission a research study to ascertain whether there is a correlation between changes in the Department for Communities and Local Government count figures for Gypsyand Traveller caravans, and the corresponding accommodation needs assessments; and, if so, what steps they will take to ensure that less thorough needs assessments do not result in lower obligations for the local authorities in the regional spatial strategies.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: Government departments and NHS bodies can, under special refund arrangements, reclaim the VAT they are charged on certain contracted-out services. This refund scheme is designed to ensure that VAT costs do not create a disincentive for these bodies to contract services out.
	This VAT refund scheme is an exception to the normal principles of public funding; that departmental and NHS spending allocations are calculated to take into account VAT costs incurred in the course of delivering public services. As with any such exception, eligibility and definitions are applied strictly.
	The services for which VAT refunds are available are specified in an HM Treasury direction. There have been no recent changes to this direction in respect of staff provided through agencies, although HM Revenue and Customs, which administers the refund scheme, has recently clarified the rules in this area. VAT has been reclaimable on nursing services, agency nursing staff and certain administrative and clerical services, since the early days of this VAT refund scheme. In contrast, VAT incurred on the supply of administrative and clerical staff, and the supply of health professionals such as doctors, radiographers and physiotherapists, has never been eligible for refund under the terms of the direction.
	The direction is amended periodically, and new services are added where a sufficiently strong case has been made for inclusion. HM Treasury recently invited government departments to submit suggestions for the next revision, which we expect to implement early in 2007.
	Government departments do not hold any central records of the VAT amounts that have been charged to NHS trusts on the supply of registered medical professionals through agencies.

Lord Davies of Oldham: During the past five years, the number of (a) fatalities, serious injuries and slight injuries and (b) death rate per 100,000 population for drivers aged 17 to 19 in personal injury road accidents reported to the police are given in the table below.
	
		
			 Number of casualties for drivers aged 17 to 19 and fatality rate per 100,000 population: GB 2001-05 
			  (a) Number of casualties (b)Fatality rate per 100,000 population 
			 Year Fatal Serious Slight  
			 2001 129 1,094 9,666 6.2 
			 2002 130 1,091 9,750 6.0 
			 2003 145 1,068 9,441 6.5 
			 2004 146 990 9,920 6.6 
			 2005 149 1,022 10,577 6.5 
		
	
	These figures exclude riders of motorcycles, pedal cycles and horses, and drivers of non-motor vehicles.

Lord Davies of Oldham: No formal assessment has been made of the number of British Olympic medal winners who have attended schools in the independent sector. Through the National School Sport Strategy, the Government are committed to increasing both the quality and quantity of PE and school sport for all pupils. Our main aim—a public service agreement target shared by DCMS and DfES—is to increase the percentage of 5 to 16 year-olds who take part in at least two hours high-quality PE and sport each week, within and beyond the curriculum, to 75 per cent by 2006 and on to 85 per cent by 2008. With 80 per cent of pupils in partnership schools spending at least two hours in a typical week on high-quality PE and school sport, the 2006 target has been exceeded. As part of this strategy, the "Gifted and Talented" workstrand offers targeted opportunities to support and nurture pupils with talent in PE and school sport. The programme focuses on pupils with clear potential as well as those who may be at risk of underachieving.
	In addition, the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS) supports young people to pursue their sporting interests while continuing in higher and further education. So far, 2,600 young people have been supported by the scheme.
	Over 1,200 talented young athletes took part in five different sports at the inaugural UK School Games staged in Glasgow in September 2006. Competitors were selected—based on ability—by the national governing bodies of the sports and their school sports associations. Competitors came from both the maintained and the independent sectors. It is planned to stage this event annually up to 2011.
	UK Sport and the Home Country Sports Councils have developed and adopted the equality standard to guide governing bodies towards equitable provision to seek to widen participation by targeting under represented groups. Many sports have already developed schemes specifically for schools in disadvantaged areas where the aim is that individuals with talent and desire will be able to progress to performance sport regardless of their background.

Lord Avebury: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will consider issuing guidance to Ministry of Defence police, that where a person trespasses on land in the open air with the intention of observing what takes place there, but without doing anything which is intended to have any of the effects specified in Section 69(1) of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, they should not submit a case to the Crown Prosecution Service under that section.